from some of the inmates and staff always asking about the cat. and i believe brian named this kitten doc, for department of corrections. >> doc is great. he's still very bold. he's a mouser. i mean like an incredible mouser. usually a few times a week he'll bring in mice from outside or rats from outside and we live near the mountains so there's quite a bit of wildlife and he'll bring us a trophy pretty much a couple times a week. due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised.

unlike prisons that house individuals convicted of crime, jails predominantly contain those accused of a crime and awaiting trial. >> get down! >> get on the ground now! >> get on the ground! >> but the challenge of maintaining order in this world is every bit as great. >> so when there's issues and we end up with racial -- basically wars -- >> it's a world where tensions run high. >> so as i'm coming down the steps and i turn my head away and look to the side, he run up and swing. that's how the fight started. and for a mother and son accused of a heinous murder, the daily drama can be overwhelming. >> i just want to hug my baby

one time before he goes to let him know that i love him and that i'm sorry for being the mom that i was. ♪ ♪ >> this place sucks, man. it really does. >> located on a 400-acre lot

southwest of downtown phoenix, the maricopa county jail consists of four indoor facilities that house up to 5,700 inmates and two outdoor tent facilities that can house men and women. the fourth avenue jail houses approximately 2,000 male inmates, considered among the highest security threats. while some have actually been convicted of crimes and are awaiting transport to prison, most are still facing trial or sentencing for everything from i.d. theft to murder. maintaining order here is up to a significantly smaller staff of detention officers. >> in sheer volume, we are greatly outnumbered, so we try to reduce that by finding out who the shock callers are and going about working smarter rather than harder. >> shock callers are highly ranking members of racially segregated gangs who try to control the inmates within their housing units.

in a jail system where inmates of different races are housed together, that can lead to trouble. >> prisons segregate. jail settings do not. >> we don't segregate by gangs, either. so you could have two bloods and a crip in the same cell. >> for the most part, they've got to get along. they're in a jail system, they're waiting to go to court and be deemed either innocent or guilty. until then, they're going to function in our system the way the sheriff wants it run. >> big bro. i want you to take bam bam. >> sergeant erby leads one of maricopa's special response teams. a s.w.a.t.-like unit of highly trained sheriff's deputies. >> you all want them cuffed and brought out of there? for right now we're going to put them in the holding tank until after we search. >> are we searching first? >> yeah.

all right? you've got a green light. all right? let's go. >> now with suspected gang activity on the rise, the team has been called in to clean house. >> how are you doing, man? >> we have identified several individuals that we deem to be heads of certain races. we've got chicano rice. we've got the pisa race. and we've got the white race. so when there's issues, we end up with racial, basically wars. >> check your equipment. >> go, go, go, go, go. >> get down! >> get on the ground! >> get on the ground! >> get on the ground now! >> i want them out. put your hands on the back wall. let's go! >> come on down here and have a seat. i want you to sit down, take your hands off your head. gentlemen, those of you sitting

on the floor, there will be no talking. >> open 17. >> you, have a seat right there facing the glass. we fired a ford thunder. basically it's a flash bang and a shotgun round. that's to get their attention and to get them to understand we mean business when we come through the door. it's called a dynamic entry. we dropped them all right where they were. >> the five suspected shot callers are removed from their cells without incident in a matter of minutes. >> we had a group of inmates five of them that are heads within their own races and they're trying to run the pod. so all we did was went to jail intel, we found out who they were, and now we've basically shifted them to the winds. >> dispersing the shot callers will help reduce gang activity for the time being. but it won't stop the racial divide between inmates. cecil kunkel has spent time in the hole for refusing to house with african-americans. >> tell me why. >> because it's wrong.

i'm walking around with white power on me. why am i going to house up with them? it's nothing personal. it's just the way it is. >> these days kunkel is less concerned with race relations than he is with putting maricopa behind him. most of the inmates like him who are still facing charges will plea bargain for shorter prison sentences than they might get if found guilty at trial. but kunkel is so convinced of his case he's banking on 12 jurors to look past his appearance and set him free. >> my case is cold cut. it's either guilty or not guilty. but i feel if i bring my case in front of 12 people, somebody in there is going to agree that i was entrapped. >> kunkel says an undercover cop lured him into a crime he never intended to commit.

>> i had a car stereo. i approached a lady and wanted to buy a stereo. and he was like, no, but if you can get some checks and credit cards, i'll be interested in that type of merchandise. so i went out and got them and came back, sold it to them. nine months later, they charged me. i'm not denying i committed the crime, but the state set me up. you've got undercover cops out there, intentionally, intentionally coming after people like me, just how i look and my past. people see me on the streets, you know, with all the tattoos and i got a vibe of, like, they think i'm a bad guy. but i'm not a bad guy, you know what i mean? i'm a product of the state. this is how the state made me. >> some of kunkel's tattoos are inflammatory, such as the swastika on top of his head. others, like the teardrop and the dots below his eye, are often associated with gang-related violence. but kunkel says his are different. >> so how about these tats up

here? >> that's my mom. she passed away. >> over here? >> no comment. >> okay. how about on your head? >> no comment. >> approximately 15 minutes after our interview with him, kunkel's tattoos led to serious trouble. jail security cameras pick him up at the bottom of his housing pod staircase. he has words with an african-american inmate and suddenly violence breaks out. the two men exchange numerous blows as other inmates gather around them. the brawl seems to last for an

extended period of time. but it's actually only 41 seconds before security staff can assemble enough officers to not only break up the fight but to safely secure the pod in order to prevent other inmates from getting involved. >> i believe that the tattoos is basically the main reason for the fight and that the blacks were disrespected by it. when an inmate that has tattoos, such as that gentleman did, they tend to be -- when you flash them like that, it tends to disrespect a lot of other inmates. coming up -- >> we don't like cecil kunkel. >> things heat up for cecil kunkel. >> you see the swastika on his head? going to get carved right off. peel it [ bleep ] back. >> peel it back. >> and authorities try to get to the bottom of the brawl. >> you're not helping me out in the situation. ♪

[ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette, you celebrate a little win. nicoderm cq, the patch with time release smart control technology that acts fast and helps control cravings all day long. ♪ quit one day at a time with nicoderm cq.

down the middle. straight down the middle. >> the fourth avenue jail in maricopa county, arizona, houses more than 2,000 male inmates, including those considered to pose the highest security risk. racial tensions run high in this facility, as inmate cecil kunkel discovered shortly after our interview with him in which he showed off his many tattoos. kunkel and the inmate he fought, robert hurd, were placed in isolation cells and were unavailable to us, pending an investigation. but hurd's friends made their feelings about kunkel crystal clear. >> we don't like cecil kunkel. >> you see that swastika on his head, going to get carved right off. scalp his ass. >> take that whole thing. >> peel it [ bleep ] back. >> how does everybody know cecil? >> because when you do so much talking and you catch so many enemies, it's not everybody else. at some point in time you have to realize, it's not everybody

else, maybe it's me. you see what i'm saying? that's as simple as it is going to get. it can't be everybody else in the world that keep [ bleep ] you over. maybe you [ bleep ] them over and they're tired of it. >> that's real fourth avenue talk right there. ♪ one, two i'm coming for you ♪ three, four better hit the floor ♪ >> two floors above fourth avenue's general population pod is one of the highest security housing units where inmates considered too dangerous to freely move among the rest of the population are housed. albert has lived in one of these extremely sparse cells for nearly four years as his case has lingered on in the courts. >> it's like i'm never going to get out. i'm only 23 years old. i've been here since i was 20. >> he is accused of taking part in a heinous murder. >> they're trying to say i'm the

one that planned it out and i'm the one that had everything to do with it, i'm the ring leader basically, so -- >> and the prosecutor wants him to pay for the crime with his life. >> he says it was a brutal crime, that we didn't have no remorse in what we did, how we beat this dude up, like we just didn't care. but it wasn't like that, you know what i mean? we were up on dope. know what i mean? we didn't know when to stop. no one meant to hurt this dude like that, it was a robbery gone bad, basically. >> while prosecutors contend he was the ring leader, they say he wasn't alone. the jail currently houses four co-defendants who are especially close to him. >> one's my mom, my brother, my ex-old lady and my mom's boyfriend. >> the district attorney says his girlfriend lured a 47-year-old man to his mother's home. and that when they arrived, cermano and the others robbed and hog tied him before killing him with garden shears and dumping his body in the desert.

facing a possible death sentence, cermano says he's tried to make the best of life at maricopa. >> i only went to two days of high school but since i've been here these past four years, i taught myself to read. i can read good now. i go through books like crazy. >> got some books for you, man. here you go, cermano. >> appreciate it, man. thank you. >> no problem, man. >> i like the romance books. yeah, i like them romance books, but i like to read anything. westerns, mysteries, action. i'll read anything. if it interests me and it's a page turner, i'll read it. if it's not, i throw it away or give it to someone else. ♪ no fairy tales no fairy tales see me stranded in jail ♪ ♪ see me stranded in jail jail >> back downstairs, sergeant shamrock is investigating the fight between cecil kunkel and robert hurd to determine if one or the other provoked it. >> i'll talk to the inmates at hand and if there's further

questioning that needs to be done, i'll talk to the officers and we may review some cameras and come to a determination. the exact amount of discipline that we're going to give them. robert hurd? is that you? >> what's going on, sarge? >> how you doing? >> all right. >> you got a write-up here, i see. >> yeah. >> yeah? what happened? >> pretty much, man, i didn't have no forewarning or anything, i just got tagged first, man. >> because what i'm reading here and from what the officer is saying, that it was a mutual conduct fight between you and the other inmate. >> well, all you got to do is look at the camera, man. >> you want me to review the camera? >> yeah. >> i can do that but at this point you may sit in here for another couple days until i get determination of your involvement in the incident. and i'll come back and talk to you in a little bit when i get some more information. >> all right. >> okay. >> shamrock then visits kunkel to get his side of the story. >> mr. kunkel. i'm here to see you again. this is like twice in like three weeks. what's going on? >> nothing. >> nothing?

>> nope. >> you recall this incident with mr. hurd? >> no, i'm not saying nothing. >> you're not saying nothing? you don't want to work with me on this? >> there ain't nothing there. >> well, i'll tell you what, i'm going to put an extension on this incident. i'm going to investigate it, you want me to review cameras or film, i'll go ahead and do that. >> i don't want an extension. >> well, that's what you're going to get. an officer is saying one thing, you're telling me you know nothing about it. i've got a guy down there that's telling me he's a victim. okay? >> that's up to you. what i'm saying, why you got to go interview tapes or keep me in here longer? >> you're looking at 30 days in here. >> i know. >> you're not helping me out in this situation. i'm here to help you and listen to what you've got to tell me. what you're saying has nothing -- is not even jiving with this thing here. you've got nothing else to add to this thing? >> nope. >> okay. i'll have a determination made by the end of the day.

>> a short time later, kunkel asks to speak with shamrock again. >> when i came back and spoke with him, he told me, he said, i was involved in a fight. i asked him where he got the scratches from his face. he said the other guy hit me a couple times but it was mutual and right now it's quashed. so he really doesn't have any issues with the guy right now. coming up -- maricopa special response team attempts to recover a homemade cuff key from an inmate considered to be especially dangerous. >> don't move. >> and later, they turn the jail inside out in search of a very important missing key. >> the set of keys for the armory, for some reason we've got a bathroom key on there and a lot of civilians borrow that key to use the rest room. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card

and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. start saving at citi.com/pricerewind.

day-to-day security at the maricopa county jail in phoenix is handled by detention officers. sheriff's deputies assigned to the jail and who are the front line in maintaining order. they're backed up by the jail's

intelligence division, which is constantly gathering information on potential problems before they can escalate. >> the key's going to look like this. >> okay. >> it's going to be pretty much just etched out of the toothbrush. >> okay. >> all right. >> but we've got to hit them quick because if not he'll swallow it. >> the fourth avenue jail's intelligence division suspects one of its maximum security inmates of having a homemade handcuff key. >> do the cells in 4 bravo 200, 100, 3, 4, do they have the back windows into the water wells? >> they do. >> okay, they do. we will be monkeying around in your water wells. if you call the briefing room and i don't answer right away, give me a couple minutes to get back here. >> sergeant nicholas heads the special response team that will attempt to retrieve the key. but to prevent the inmate from swallowing it, they must catch him by surprise. >> let's go to the water well. what water well is, it's basically a plumber's access, you know, the toilets are mounted against the wall, the

sink's mounted against the wall. we don't necessarily go in the cell to fix these. we just go to the back water well, full of plumbing. since we have the water well built, they decided, let's put windows. we go on a security walk, the inmates see us and know we were there. we can go in the water wells, turn off all the lights, and peer in those back windows. if the windows aren't covered with obstacles, deodorant, paper, towels, they think these security windows are a shelf for them to put their junk, when they're not. they're for us. >> sergeant nicholas makes his way through the darkened water well to cell six in order to check on the inmate suspected of having the homemade cuff key. >> this is cell six right here but he's got his window blocked so i don't know what he's doing inside. >> with his first surveillance attempt foiled, nicholas turns to more conventional means to confirm the inmate is asleep. >> when's your next security walk? >> nicholas asks one of the jail's detention officers to

walk by the inmate's cell. >> don't do anything out of the ordinary, just go on a security walk and tell me what he's doing. hopefully if he's asleep we're literally going to jump him while he's out. we don't want him to have access to anything before we get there. >> once it's confirmed the inmate is still asleep, nicholas finalizes the entry plan with his team. >> okay. he's dead asleep. >> got the shotgun? you need to ditch the shotgun and go in second or go in behind me. >> i'll go hands on with barton. >> cool. so i don't have to get dirty today? >> no. i'll spare you. >> oh. all right. let's get this stuff secure. >> with their plan in place, the team heads to the sleeping inmate's cell. his name is albert cermano. >> don't move.

don't move. let me see your hands. let me see your hands. roll on your back. roll on your back. relax. cermano, right? >> uh-huh. >> roll on your side, okay? put your feet over here, man. hold on. while you got him flat, i want his trousers off and socks off. put your hands up against the wall. pick up one leg. out. >> i got him. i'm going to back him out. over here, sarge. check his boxers. pat him down real quick in case he's got it somewhere on him. we've got to check his boxers and stuff. >> while cermano is strip searched, the intelligence unit inspects his cell for the key. >> see, they hide stuff inside the toilet paper rolls. it's a nightmare to actually get

in there and spot anything in there, especially small items like razors and things like that. >> use one of your hands. pull your bottom lip down. upper. >> see, they try to resew it and try to hide stuff in there. >> run your fingers through your hair. take your boxers off and hand them to me. >> though the key has yet to turn up, intelligence officers find other contraband. it involves the one thing cermano treasures the most. his books. >> these are messages that one gang member is writing to another. these messages will go throughout the facility and that way they'll know these guys are here. they'll also write other messages that have to do with the same thing, like trying to get people, assault people, whatever, and they're actually able to hand these over to the staff and the staff sometimes misses it in searches, and actually passes the messages over to other inmates. >> have a seat right here.

>> i seen them jump on me, i thought, hell, no. i thought they were going to [ bleep ] pick me up and throw me on the ground. i was, like, [ bleep ] this. i didn't want to resist because i didn't want to get tased. i mean, i was like [ bleep ]. >> the search didn't turn up anything, which is good, but we did find an opening in the boxers where something could have been hidden. but it wasn't there at the time we did the search. right now we're calling it off and we'll continue to monitor the situation and see where it goes. >> i'm not [ bleep ] planning to do nothing to get any more charges, or keep myself more locked down than i already am. we don't get to barely come out as it is. coming up -- two versions of a jailhouse fight. >> as i'm coming down the steps, i turn my head away and look to the side, and take a swing, that's how the fight started. >> it's a one-on-one fight. it's a dead issue now. you know what i mean? i was saving big on car insurance.

with snapshot, i knew what i could save before i switched to progressive. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. you're not filming this, are you? aw! camera shy. snapshot from progressive. test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today. to the best vacation sp(all) the gulf! it doesn't matter which of our great states folks visit. mississippi, alabama, louisiana or florida, they're gonna love it. shaul, your alabama hospitality is incredible. thanks, karen. love your mississippi outdoors. i vote for your florida beaches, dawn. bill, this louisiana seafood is delicious. we're having such a great year on the gulf, we've decided to put aside our rivalry. now is the perfect time to visit anyone of our states. the beaches and waters couldn't be more beautiful. take a boat ride, go fishing or just lay in the sun. we've got coastline to explore and wildlife to photograph.

and there's world class dining with our world famous seafood. so for a great vacation this year, come to the gulf. its all fabulous but i give florida the edge. right after mississippi. you mean alabama. say louisiana or there's no dessert. this invitation is brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home.

due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. get down! >> hey, i need that dude up there strip searched. >> the special response team at the maricopa county jail in phoenix, arizona, have a broad range of responsibilities. they respond to crisis situations. >> go, go, go! >> conduct cell inspections for weapons and drugs. >> once they're strip searched

they're going into the rec yard. >> and escort high-profile inmates to court, to name a few. but sometimes they find themselves taking on very different duties. >> gentlemen, get up. >> one minute it can be exciting and one minute it can be you're looking through garbage. it's got its ups and downs, but for the most part, it's got its ups. >> having recently shaken down albert cermano -- >> let me see your hands. let me see your hands. >> -- who they incorrectly suspected of having a homemade cuff key, they are now in search of another key, a missing key. >> we hope either an officer inadvertently took them home and hasn't realized it yet, but apparently all the phone calls have been made and everyone claims they don't have the key. so what we're going to do is tear this level apart. i want you two, you're going to check the clinic. you two, start tearing this core apart, give her a hand. we're going to literally tear

this whole level apart, cell by cell. >> the missing key is to the jail's armory, where nonlethal, though still very dangerous, weapons are stored. >> start tearing the place apart. ♪ since the missing armory keys could very well be in the hands of an inmate by now, no part of the jail is left out of the search. >> they could have cut out a space inside the books to plan to steal the keys and then once they did, hid them in here not thinking, oh, they won't check in the chapel, you know? >> help me out in here but start from behind the door, work this way. i already got all this out. >> but as his officers turn the unit upside down, sergeant nicholas gets wind of new

information that further complicates matters. >> the set of keys for the armory, for some reason we've got a bathroom key on there and a lot of civilians borrow that key to use the restroom. so now the whole missing keys just got worse. so not only may an officer have misplaced it but we might have a nurse, religious volunteer or somebody may have used the restroom, stuck it in their pocket and gone home. so note to self, take bathroom key off of armory key set. >> while the key could be almost anywhere in this massive jail system, it's probably not with cecil kunkel. he's in the middle of a 20-day lockdown for having fought with another inmate. >> it was a one-on-one fight, and it's a dead issue now, you know what i mean? it is what it is. it's no big thing. it's something that always happens. it ain't nothing, you know what i'm saying? that's all there is to it, you know? >> kunkel claims his conflict with inmate robert hurd was just a run-of-the-mill jailhouse fight.

but hurd says kunkel sucker punched him to avoid a fight with a bigger inmate. who was angry kunkel was flaunting his tattoos. >> when he got caught up with the big guy he was nervous to fight the person, so he's looking for a plea bargain, a way out, so the way to sign out is to run up in the middle of a pod where there's cameras at and run up and swing on somebody so the police can see what's going on and come break it up and that way he get moved so he won't ever have to face that man. so as i'm coming down the steps, one of my peoples ask something to me and i turn my head away, look to the side and he run up and swing and that's how the fight started. >> after officials investigated the fight and viewed the surveillance footage, they cleared hurd of any wrongdoing and gave kunkel additional time in segregation. >> show all them tattoos and all them swastikas don't mean nothing, if you can't stand behind it and stand on it you know what i'm saying, or be a man and handle your own situation with the person you have a problem with, don't pick

a fight with the little person and still get beat up. i mean, it kind of speak for itself. >> though kunkel has made some enemies during his time at maricopa, he also has his supporters. >> it seems like every pod you go into, there's guys after him. >> yeah. he's not a bad guy, he's just -- i don't think people like him. i don't know why. there's other people that have tattoos. you know? everybody wants to get at him. >> josh pike has known kunkel's family for most of his life. while they're not relatives, he thinks of kunkel as his cousin. >> look, there's my cousin. hey! >> is cecil a racist? >> i can't really answer that. i'm not sure. because of his tattoos? >> yeah, he's got a huge swastika on his head. >> yeah. yeah. no. i mean, that doesn't mean you're a racist, you know what i mean? that doesn't signify that you're a racist.

>> what does it signify? >> that i can't talk about. unfortunately can't talk about that. >> tell me why. >> it's like kind of like our thing, you know what i mean? as far as being a convict. >> while pike wouldn't say what kunkel's tattoos signify, he has an unlikely ally in his claims that kunkel is not a racist. >> i know some real white boys are real racists. he's not one of them. real skin heads, they don't get hot, know what i mean? he's a nobody. you know? >> what do you think when you see a swastika on his head and all that stuff? >> first off, i may feel a little hot, that's natural. but when i look at the person that it is and i find out about that person and where they are, it's like they're ignorant so it's, like, funny to me, like i laugh it off. don't disrespect me, i won't disrespect you. >> after his stay in segregation, kunkel is less interested in respecting any of his fellow inmates than he is in just putting them all behind him. >> on tuesday? all right. thank you. all right. i start trial tuesday. start picking my jury out tuesday.

and just go from there, i guess. >> knowing he would soon be facing a jury, kunkel's lawyer also advised him to grow his hair. >> because when you go in there looking the way i look, people are like, damn, this dude's been in prison all his life. he's got to be [ bleep ] up. i don't want people to think that about me. they offered me three plea bargains already and i turned all of them down because i believe that at least one person on that jury panel will be like, you know what, he was entrapped and i can't convict him on that. and if i didn't feel that way, i would have taken the plea bargain a long time ago. let's see what they have to say about it. i'm willing to roll the dice. coming up -- albert cermano tries unsuccessfully to cut a deal to avoid the death sentence. >> they denied the 25 to life. i asked my lawyer to put in for the natural life. >> and in another part of maricopa, his mother comes to terms with her part in the murder that landed them here.

>> i just want to hold my baby one time before he goes, to let him know that i love him and that i'm sorry for being the mom that i was. copd makes it hard to breathe,

but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day.

advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com.

don't come to arizona and do crime. you come on vacation, you leave on probation. >> though he has spent almost half of his life incarcerated for a variety of crimes, cecil kunkel is about to defend himself in court for the first time. >> all right, buddy. stay out of trouble, all right? let me know what's going on. hey, cut your hair. >> i know, i'm in trial. >> with jury selection completed, his trial for selling stolen checks to an undercover police officer is about to get

under way. >> i've made my share of mistakes, but, damn, i got set up this time, you know what i mean? >> kunkel heads through an underground tunnel from the maricopa county jail to the courthouse, where he will entrust his fate to 12 strangers. >> hopefully they believe my story. know what i mean? because if they don't, then like i said, man, i'm done. it's all over but the crime, you know? if they come back and say i'm guilty, my mindset's going to be like, it's not going to -- it's going to be [ bleep ] up. the real monster's going to come out. >> unlike kunkel, albert cermano, facing a possible death sentence for murder, was hoping to avoid a jury and cut a deal for 25 to life. but he's just gotten word that the prosecutor said no way.

so now it's on to plan b. letting his lawyers submit a plea bargain for natural life, meaning he will never be a free man. >> i've asked my lawyer to ask for it because they denied the 25 to life. so i asked him to put in for the natural life, and he was telling me that's probably my best bet, too, because he says he don't even see a 50/50 chance of me winning my case. i just said [ bleep ] it. >> but there was a development with one of cermano's co-defendants. his mother connie, housed four miles away at maricopa women's facility, has pled guilty for her role in the murder. but she says now she's more concerned about albert than she is herself. >> i found out friday that he's going to sign a plea for natural life. i broke down in the pod. all the girls hugged me and told me it's going to be okay, but they just don't understand. nobody in here can understand if they don't have their kids in here, incarcerated.

i just want to hold my baby one time before he goes, to let him know that i love him and that i'm sorry for being the mom that i was. and just want him to stay strong. just stay strong. because he has a road to go. there's a lot of evidence against my son. >> connie is facing a sentence of at least 25 to life. her other son, carlos, has also signed a 25 to life deal for his role in the killing. >> 25 to life is where you could have a chance to have parole, and natural life you'll never be able to come out again. you will die there. there's times that i want to end my life because of it. i just can't believe that we're here. i can't believe that my sons are -- i'll never see my sons again, my boyfriend again. just off of one mistake.

>> cermano now holds out hope that the prosecutor will quickly accept his plea proposal for natural life. if for no other reason, he might get to sign the paperwork at the same time his mother signs hers. >> this is the last time i'll ever get to see my mom, so hopefully i'll have this court date on the 23rd and we'll see what happens, be able to hug her one more time, and that's it. >> step out, kunkel. >> cecil kunkel's future is largely in his own hands now. with his trial about to get under way, he is released from his courtroom holding cell. although he will be allowed to change into civilian clothing to face the jury, the jury will never know underneath his shirt is a stun belt to prevent any misconduct. >> this thing isn't going to go off now, isn't it? >> i don't know.

it depends on if you're squirrelly, it may go after. it's kind of sensitive. >> have you worn one of those before? >> no. first time. >> first time? >> one leg up. >> first time for everything, you know? >> you know what it is? >> i guess it's some type of taser device, i guess. i don't know. i don't know. i don't want to know what it is, to tell you the truth. >> later, kunkel's moment of truth finally arrives. >> you do solemnly swear the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god? >> yes, i do. >> he is about to take the stand and hopes to convince a jury that he only sold stolen checks to an undercover officer because he was entrapped. >> do you remember the events that everybody was talking about? >> yes, i do. very well. >> in order to have any hope of getting an acquittal, kunkel's attorney, brian boreli, must establish that it was never kunkel's idea to sell the checks but that he was urged to commit the crime by the undercover

officer. >> now, before you met the detective, had you ever planned to sell people's checks before that? >> absolutely not. i've went up on a truck and i asked him if he was interested in buying a stereo. and he said he's really not into that type of merchandise. but if i come across any checks or credit cards, he would be interested in that type of merchandise. >> did you know someone you could get them from? >> i had an idea of somebody i can get them from. >> now, after your whole conversation with the detective, what did you think he would do if you brought him checks? >> well, obviously -- i was under the impression he wanted to buy them. >> if you hadn't met detective [ bleep ] would you have ever sold anyone's checks? >> no. if i wouldn't have never met him, i wouldn't be here right now. >> thank you.

>> kunkel must now face off against the prosecutor. >> and the first thing that you asked detective [ bleep ], did you see the other person in the car? >> yes. >> okay. that was detective [ bleep ]? >> yes. >> and so the first thing you said to them was, hey, you guys cops? >> yes. >> so you wondered if they were cops. >> yes, i did. >> so you knew what you were doing was wrong? >> no. i just -- i wasn't trying to get wrapped up in anything bad. like i was telling the jury earlier, the neighborhood i'm from, there's police everywhere, so i didn't want to get wrapped up in something like i am in now. is what i'm saying. >> nothing else, judge. >> i'll go over the jury questions. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> after kunkel's testimony, brian boreli makes his closing arguments to the jury. >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

some of you may believe cecil's no angel, he sold the checks. i don't care what the officers did. but remember what the judge told you. you can believe the law is wrong but you must follow the law. the law says if it was the officer's idea, which it was, if the officer urged or induced him, which he did, and unless cecil was predisposed to commit this crime already, you must find him not guilty. ladies and gentlemen, i ask that you follow the law. i ask that you find cecil not guilty. >> all right. thank you. >> with the jury convened, all that's left for kunkel is the waiting. and coming up, officers get a break in the missing armory key mystery.

and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. start saving at citi.com/pricerewind. like say, gas station sushi. cheap is good. and sushi, good. but cheap sushi, not so good. it's like that super-low rate on not enough car insurance. pretty sketchy. ♪ and then there are the good decisions. like esurance. their coverage counselor tool helps you choose the right coverage for you at a great price. [ stomach growls ] without feeling queasy. that's insurance for the modern world. esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call.

make a wish! i wish we could lie here forever. i wish this test drive was over, so we could head back to the dealership. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. test drive! but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com today.

it's been a good day for sergeant david nicholas and the special response team. they've been searching for a lost key to the jail's armory where a battery of weapons is stored. >> miraculously the keys appeared, showed up out of nowhere. found them on a desk top with no one to be seen. out of embarrassment, someone accidentally took the set of keys home. didn't want anybody to find out about it. the next morning, snuck them back. >> do they still keep the bathroom key with the armory key? >> i do believe they have reconfigured their key sets and how they secure them. but give it six months, it will happen again and we'll go to plan c. that's it. keys found, case closed.

>> in a nearby courtroom, cecil kunkel's case is still open, but not for long. he's about to find out whether he will spend the next 15 to 61 years in prison for selling stolen checks to an undercover officer. >> all right. has the jury reached a verdict? >> we have. >> is it your position that you think you're hopelessly deadlocked? you don't feel further deliberations will help you reach a decision? >> correct. >> okay. everybody's on the same page? all right. ladies and gentlemen, the court will declare a mistrial and excuse the jury. >> the jury's inability to reach a verdict means kunkel's case will be tried again. but not being found guilty has left him energized. >> well, you know what, they're getting ready to go for round two. guess it was a deadlock, so get ready to go again. know what i mean? i was hoping to walk today, but obviously we have some people that believed i was guilty and

some felt that i wasn't, so we'll just go back to trial. it ain't no big deal to me. >> how did you feel about the black judge when you walked in? >> i thought it was a good thing, to tell you the truth. >> how come? >> how come? because -- how come? because the majority of the judges out here will send your ass up the river quick. i'm not saying just because he's black he gave me a break or nothing like that, but like i said, i'm in here for them setting me up. >> but a retrial wasn't meant to be. a couple of weeks later, kunkel's lawyer reached a deal with the prosecutor. kunkel will soon walk out of jail with one year of probation to complete. and before he leaves, kunkel has decided to return to his pretrial look. >> we're going to shave this dirt off my head. >> why is that? >> because i'm tired of having it. it was just to show for a minute.

people see me with all the tattoos and they're going to think what they want. but there's -- you know what i mean, you've got to get to know me as a person, as a man, as a human, you you what i mean, before you jump to conclusions. you know what i'm saying? if you take the time to get to know me, you'll see, man, that i -- i feel i'm a caring person, a loving person, a person that has respect, respects others regardless of race and gender, whatever, you know what i mean? but if you cross that line, then, you know, it is what it is, man. i just take a day at a time. you know what i'm saying? i'm not here to change people's feelings, you know what i'm saying? either you like me or you don't. you know what i mean? if you don't like me, tell me. i don't give a damn. you know what i mean? >> what do you think? >> it's good. >> ready to get out? >> i'll hit it with a razor tonight. yeah. >> cecil, what's next? >> beautiful women and some good food.